


The Stowaway

by fallingdeeperintothispit



Series: Queer Space Warriors Trying their Best [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, lance gets into some real bad relationships, no queerbaiting in my story voltron team you pieces of shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27734959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingdeeperintothispit/pseuds/fallingdeeperintothispit
Summary: Young astronaut-in-training Lance McClain wants to go to space now. Right now. So he may or may not have broken one or... a hundred rules by sneaking onto the prodigy Shiro Takahasi's spaceship and stowing away in a piece of cargo. He just really wants to go to space! And besides, Shiro and Matt are only going to the moon. Lance has trained for this!...Of course, he's found right away. Shiro and Matt are both disappointed and tell him he'll be expelled when they land back on Earth.So Lance's new wish is to never go back.And it comes true in the worst way possible... hostile aliens kidnap the three of them.He's only thirteen. But Shiro can't protect him over the guise of illness as he does for Matt. He's always been healthy. And so he's sent into the battlefield with his idol.(Based on a dream I had where Lance was the Galra's champion instead of Shiro.)
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Queer Space Warriors Trying their Best [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194083
Comments: 7
Kudos: 64





	1. Just a Boy from Cuba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance stows away on a spaceship headed for a moon. Things turn bad very quickly. Full description above.

_Dear Mama,_

_I love you so much. And I'm so sorry. But I'm not coming home. I have no idea if this letter will ever get to you. I wish with all my might that I had chosen a different love. Maybe swimming? I'd always been good in the water. But... the heart wants what it wants. If only I could turn back time and stop myself from making that foolish decision..._

**-3 days earlier-**

"Lance, are you sure about this?" Hunk asked him. 

Hunk was baking some sort of cake, and Lance's stomach rumbled. He sighed and wished he could eat the cake, but knew this was his only chance. 

"Don't worry, my dear friend! I'm just going to look," Lance said, knowing it was a lie, "I'll be back before you finish baking!"

Hunk sighed but relented. 

"Fine, Lance. We're teenagers now, so I know I can't stop you."

Lance gave his best friend a big hug, making sure to squeeze him extra tight. He knew that Hunk was going to freak when he didn't return. But he would be fine! It was only for six days. Two days to the moon, two days to collect samples and two days back.

"You won't regret this!"

....

Lance hurried towards the open ship, making sure no one saw him. Stealth was his middle name, after all. He felt guilty for leaving Hunk, but he knew this was his only chance. Lance was smart and had quick thinking, but he would never fly like the rest of them. He was just a boy from Cuba. They would give him honorifics, put him in a plane once in a while, but Lance knew the material cost of going to space and knew that his family could never afford it. They could barely afford to send him to this academy. He knew this was his only chance to be part of something bigger than himself. 

Lance took one last look around, then ran into the open cargo pit. Being young and flexible, he opened up a box of blankets and squeezed his nimble form inside, making sure there was an airhole. Then he covered up the box again and promptly fell asleep.

.......

When Lance woke back up, he heard the rattling of the engines and commands being given by 'home base'. He knew he had missed the take-off, and felt a bit disappointed. But he immediately got happier knowing that he was in space!

...Even if he couldn't see it.

Lance McClain, a plain boy from Cuba, 13 years old, WAS IN SPACE!

"Hey Shiro, I'm gonna get a blanket. It's freezing in here!" a voice said.

Wait... Shiro? THE SHIRO?!?! Wait... OH NO!

"Sounds good, Matt," Shiro said.

No no no no no no n-

Matt opened the box.

Lance waved at him pathetically.

.....

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! GOING TO SPACE AS A CADet? YOU COULD HAVE SERIOUSLY DAMAGED YOUR EARS, OR SOME OTHER VITAL THING, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! YOU- what was your name again?" Shiro yelled, furious.

"Lance," he said, seated on the floor stupidly in front of them both.

"YOU ARE SO STUPID, LANCE!"

"Yeah! What he said!" Matt echoed.

"Matt! Not. Helping," Shiro said, turning his gaze on him.

"Sorry," Matt said weakly.

"YOU'LL BE EXPELLED! DO YOU REALIZE THAT!" 

Lance almost rolled his eyes, but then it hit him. His parents had worked so hard to send him to the academy. And he had thrown it all away for his selfish desires. He felt hot tears roll down his eyes. 

"I-I'm sorry," he hiccuped.

"Shit. Look what you did, Shiro. You made the kid cry." Matt said.

"Good! At least he's apologizing!"

"Adam was right. You really aren't parent material."

Shiro froze at those words.

"Fuck- sorry, Shiro. I know that's why you two are taking a break right now, I should have held my tongue- and I'll just shut up now."

Shiro sighed and looked off to the side, his eyes squeezing in... hurt? Or was that guilt? Lance couldn't tell from his teary vision.

"I-I knew they were never gonna send me to space."

That got both of their attention.

"M-My family is poor. Very poor. We all worked to send me to the academy. And I knew that being sent to space is even more expensive. The people at the academy were never gonna let me see it. See the stars from space. I-I just wanted to go to space ONCE so that my family wouldn't be disappointed in me," Lance said, hiccuping at the end.

"Oh, Lance. Kid... you can't just run away from the consequences of your actions." Shiro said.

Lance nodded. He knew that already.

"But... there's no rule saying that we can't not let him go on the moon with us," Matt interrupted.

Lance looked up at him in shock.

"What?" both he and Shiro said at the same time.

"Well, I mean, just think about it. Technically, we don't have to report again until we're going back to Earth. Therefore, last we reported, Lance wasn't part of this journey. So, therefore, he can come onto the moon because to our home base, he isn't actually here."

"That's... oddly smart of you, Matt," Shiro said, nodding his head thoughtfully.

"Why not go out with a bang? At least step foot on a new planet before being expelled. Deal with the consequences later, have fun now!"

"You only live once!" Lance shouted, then blushed.

He couldn't believe he just said that. That was Keith's thing. Keith who was definitely not someone Lance was looking for in the halls every hour of every day. Keith who he was MOST CERTAINLY NOT crushing on.

Shiro and Matt seemed to agree to his outburst, though, so Lance just pushed the butterflies in his chest aside.

.....

"WE'RE ON THE MOON!" Lance screamed in delight, causing both Matt and Shiro to cover their ears.

"Sorry."

"Never apologize for being passionate about your life," Shiro said, smiling.

Lance grinned from ear to ear and whooped again, ecstatic.

"It looks like we're a little low on gas this year. Let's refuel for the next few hours and then start collecting," Matt said.

"Sounds good!" Shiro and Lance said

....

After Matt refueled, both Shiro and Lance got on their suits. Lance, using a spare suit that was a little big on him, was a little uncomfortable, but happy.

"You ready?" Shiro asked.

"YES!"

Shiro smiled at his passion and opened up the pit hatch, Lance following his lead. 

Lance stepped onto the moon, his eyes widening as he looked at Earth in the distance.

His smile grew so wide that it hurt his cheeks... and he knew he would never forget this moment.

"I wish I didn't have to go home," he couldn't help but think.

Then there was a noise. A very loud, scary, and foreign noise.

"What the hell was that?" Matt's voice over the intercom asked.

"Not sure! Come to the center field and let's check it out!" Shiro answered.

Lance followed Shiro to the center of the moon's supply field of... weird stuff... and looked up. There was a large purple and black spaceship directly above them, looking very very scary.

"RUN!" Shiro screamed as the ship landed. 

Lance didn't hesitate, starting to run towards the ship.

"Help! Help!" he heard from behind him.

Matt was stuck inside a crevice, his shoe jammed inside one of the cracks.

"I got you!" Lance yelled running towards him as much as he could with the gravitational pull and grabbing his arm.

"Thanks, Lance!" Matt said, only to be interrupted by the sound of a safety trigger being released.

"Come with us, humans," the large purple alien said, pointing a gun at the both of them.

"Lance! Matt!" Shiro yelled at them.

"RUN!" they both screamed in unison.

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

Shiro started making his way towards them, moving in front of them both.

"Please, good creature. My fellow crewmates are both terribly sick. They wouldn't last a minute on your vessel."

Lance and Matt both moved to protest but Shiro shut them both up with a murderous glare.

"You are all boarding our vessel. No questions asked. But... this skinny one," the alien said, pointing at Matt, "looks far too weak to fight. Perhaps you will be pleased enough to know that we will not send him to the arena."

"What about my other crewmate? He's very weak as well. He shouldn't be sent to this... arena."

Lance wanted to argue but knew Shiro was just doing this to protect him.

"You think you can make a fool of me? I watched him traverse this poorly gravitational planet to save his friend in record time. This is no weak boy. Any more lies and I'll send the truly weak one to the arena anyway," the alien said.

Shiro looked as though he wanted to protest, but Lance grabbed his elbow in reassurance.

"I'll be okay, Shiro. I've survived Iverson. How hard can this be?"

Matt let out a long breath and smiled weakly at the two of them.

"Good luck," he said, knowing that they would need it.

Then they were all escorted onto the ship, Matt was thrown into a cell with what looked to be mostly women while Shiro and Lance were thrown into one with scar-ridden men who looked as though they had all been through many wars. Lance gulped nervously.

"You all may write one letter to your families. We will let you give it to them personally if you survive long enough to do so."

They handed Lance and Shiro a pen and paper, and stood outside the cell, waiting. Lance's hand shook as he began the letter.

_Dear Mama,_

.....

_....I know I made a mistake. But can you blame me? I wanted to see space. Tell Hunk that it's not his fault. That he couldn't have stopped me. No matter what he did. I know he's gonna beat himself up over this. And tell Matt's little sister that he's safe. He's been deemed too sick to go to 'the arena'. Mama, I'm scared. I don't know what's gonna become of me. By the time you read this letter, I might already be gone. And I'm so, so, so very sorry if that's the case. I'm gonna try my best, though, mama. So that I can come home to you, to the twins, to Veronica- and to all my pals at the academy. Even that sourpuss Keith Kogane. I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna beat that mullet's flight simulator high score. Don't worry, mama. I'll see you soon. No doubt about it._

_Love,_

_Lance_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love all of you!


	2. Shiro's Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro escapes the arena and lands back on Earth. 
> 
> Keith goes to rescue him and notices his missing arm.
> 
> Pidge and Hunk show up. Hunk is very upset, but he doesn't say anything.
> 
> Adam comes with them and finds the Blue Lion along the way. He and Shiro need to kiss and make up, literally and figuratively.

-Escape pod has launched-

Lance stared at the words in hope and despair at the same time. Hope that Shiro was finally safe. Despair that he had been left all alone. Hope that eventually, he could leave this place too. Despair knowing that the fights were going to get more and more violent after this. He knew he was a warrior through and through now. He would never be the young and innocent cadet that he once was. Hope hit him again. He knew that Shiro had stolen his letter home before he left.

"Sharpshooter! What are you staring at? The Destroyer is useless to us now anyway. After all, he was damaged," one of the Galra generals said. 

"Of course, General. I am simply glad that there is now less of a threat to my position," Lance said, forcing a smile onto his face.

"That's the spirit, sharpshooter!"

"Please let him be safe," Lance couldn't help but think as he was led back into the arena.

....

Keith couldn't believe his eyes.

Shiro... was here.

SHIRO WAS OKAY!

"SHIRO!" he yelled upon seeing the man on the table. 

"Keith? Is that you?" the now long-haired man said. Keith noticed the weird cape flowing over half of his midsection, covering his right arm. He wondered what it was for. Flair? Survival?

"You scared me and Adam half to death when you disappeared! Don't you ever do that again!" Keith yelled, throwing his arms around the man.

"I have no plans to. Don't worry. Keith... how long has it been?"

"What?"

"How long has it been since we-I was abducted?"

"Six years," Keith answered plainly.

"Fuck."

"Adam and I missed you and- HOLY SHIT ADAM! I brought him with me, hold on, I have to give him the all-clear!" Keith said, and then.. Shiro's cape fell off.

The cape had been hiding... a lost arm. Keith almost broke into tears.

"What happened to you?"

"They made me become a gladiator. 'The Destroyer', they called me."

"Shiro.." Keith said softly.

"KEITH, YOU ARE TAKING WAY TOO LONG AND I-... Takashi?"

"Hey, Adam."

Adam's brown eyes widened at Shiro. First at his hair, then at his missing arm, and finally the fact that Keith was hugging him. 

"Stupid Takashi... you worried us both to death," Adam said softly, tears dripping down his face.

"Sorry about that," Shiro said, laughing a bit.

He stood up and detached Keith from him, walking over to Adam. 

"Takashi I-"

"HOLY FUCK IS THAT TAKASHI SHIROGANE?" a high-pitched voice said.

They all looked over to see two young boys sitting atop a motorbike, one wearing mostly yellow while the other wore mostly green. 

"I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!" the green one said, getting off the motorcycle and running towards the three of them.

"COME ON HUNK, IT'S SHIRO! HE'S NOT DEAD!" the green one yelled at the yellow one, who was apparently Hunk.

"NO THANKS PIDGE!" Hunk yelled back.

"Party pooper," Pidge said, now directly in front of the three of them.

"Can I shake your... hand?" 

"Does he only have one arm?" Hunk questioned, who had followed Pidge despite refusing intially.

Shiro sighed, annoyed.

"Yes, I'm alive. Yes, I only have one arm. Yes, I need to cut my hair. Yes, you can shake my hand," he said.

Pidge, very excited, shook Shiro's one hand.

Shiro then held out his hand toward Hunk, who back away a few steps.

"No thanks," he said quietly, "you're not my idol anymore."

Shiro looked at him weirdly and then shrugged, hugging Adam like he was originally going to. Alarms suddenly started blaring and Keith remembered that they were in a restricted zone.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing Adam and Shiro and running towards his hovercraft.

Pidge and Hunk followed them, now rule-breakers by interference, and hopped on the motorbike, following Keith's piloting at a remarkably high speed. They made their way to a deserted cave, then exited their vehicles, guessing that they were probably safe. Suddenly, Adam's head perked up widely.

"I hear something calling my name," he said mystically.

"What?" Keith questioned, following Adam who had started walking towards this supposed 'voice'.

"Just trust me," Adam answered, going through a small crawlspace. 

Pidge, Keith, and Shiro followed, but Hunk got himself stuck halfway through exiting. They were all able to see the giant mechanical lion surrounded by a glowing blue shield, though. Shiro smiled and reached out to help Hunk, but Hunk refused him again. Pidge sighed, shook his head in a tired manner, and then helped HUnk out of the hole. Hunk thanked him and then stepped away from Shiro, avoiding all contact with the man. Keith thought that was strange. Saying Shiro wasn't your idol was one thing, but avoiding the man altogether? He had just come back from the dead, what could he have possibly done to hurt Hunk's feelings? 

Adam walked up to the tiger, even though the rest of the protested. He touched the shield and suddenly it disappeared, the lion laying down and opening its jaw.

"That's fucking awesome," Adam said, smiling wide.

"HELL YEAH! WEIRD LION THING!" Pidge said.

"Lance would have loved to see this," Keith heard both Hunk and Shiro say behind him.

Hunk and Shiro looked at each other for a split second and then Shiro's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're the Hunk from the letter," he said softly.

"He wrote a letter?" Hunk asked.

"He did. If you want, I can show it to you once we're done being in danger?" Shiro offered.

"Yes, please," Hunk said. 

Keith raised his eyebrow but didn't comment. Whatever weird relationship Shiro and Hunk had was obviously fixed now, so he didn't need to worry about it anymore. But... why did the name Lance ring a bell in his mind? He decided he would ask Shiro about it later.

"GUYS, GET IN HERE, IT'S SO COOL!" Pidge said.

"Coming, Pidge," the three of them said at once.

And just like that, their adventure had started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! I needed someone to pilot blue and figured Adam would be best. This way he doesn't, you know, *spoilers*.
> 
> Also, forgive me, but I don't remember Shiro's original nickname from Season 1, and I am NOT rewatching Voltron.


	3. Alteans and Galrans and Mechanical Arms, oh my!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The newly formed group goes to space in their lion and finds a floating castle. Inside of it waits a princess and her attendant, frozen for thousands of years. 
> 
> Shiro has some PTSD, Keith is very confused, and poor Hunk just needs to cry a bit.

"Adam, you have to be careful with this thing! We don't know what it could do-" Shiro protested, but he couldn't stop Adam.

"Takashi, we're going up!' Adam screamed in warning, before shooting the tiger into the air.

They all screamed in unison, Adam in joy- the rest of them in fear.

"HOLF FUCK ADAM!" Shiro screamed.

"Shiro! There are children on board!" Adam yelled back, angry.

"THEY ARE OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!"

"Honestly, Shiro, I knew you wouldn't be a good father but this is a new low," Adam said softly.

Shiro knew that Adam was just mad at him. That he didn't mean anything he was saying. But those words... 

.....

"Go back to earth, Shiro. Make things right with Adam. Become a father. I know you can do it. Hell, you practically raised me while you were here," Lance said, buckling him into the tiny escape pod. 

"LANCE! LANCE NO! LET ME OUT OF THIS THING- YOU HAVE A FAMILY TOO! YOU NEED TO GET BACK TO THEM!" Shiro screamed in protest.

"You know you won't survive like this. I won't have you abandon your fianceé and potential new child for my own selfish desires. Besides," Lance said, clicking the last buckle into place, "you can just give them this."

Lance handed him a neatly folded piece of paper. His letter home.

"What will you tell the generals when they figure out it's missing?" Shiro asked softly, knowing he couldn't take Lance back to Earth with him.

"You stole it. Simple as that," Lance said, smiling softly at him.

"You don't have to do this. I'll be okay. I'm The Destroyer, after all," Shiro argued.

"Shiro, we both know you wouldn't last a minute in battle with that missing arm. Besides, they were going to give you a glaran replacement, and I can't just stand by and watch you become even more taken over by this place."

"Lance..."

"Good-bye, Shiro. I'll be okay," Lance said, exiting the pod and closing the hatch, leaving Shiro alone.

Shiro watched in vain as Lance pressed the release button.

"LANCE! LANCE! NO! PLEASE! LANCE!" 

......

"..iro. SHIRO!" he heard Keith yell.

"What..?" he asked quietly, now noticing that he was in an unfamiliar area.

"Where are we?"

"Long fuckin' story. Basically, there's an alien princess who is fighting the bad guys, and her family is the original owner of those lions," Keith explained.

"What am I doing in this... pod thing?"

"You passed out on the Blue Lion. Made everyone freak out," Keith said, looking away in embarrassment.

"Sorry... I just had a flashback. PTSD stuff," Shiro said, stepping out of the pod and into the 'normal' room. 

"Weird. Wonder what triggered it. Anyway, Hunk is waiting for you in the cafeteria. Something about a letter?"

Shiro remembered his promise to Hunk and immediately straightened up. 

"Alright. Which way?"

"Just follow the hallway to your left all the way down. First door on the right."

"Thanks, Keith. See you back in a bit," Shiro said.

"Actually, you won't. Pidge, Adam, Hunk, and I are going to search for the rest of the lions. Since the alteans already have the Black Lion, you'll be staying behind to rest."

"Ah. Alright then. Hope you have fun!"

"It'll be less fun without you, but okay," Keith admitted softly.

Shiro waved Keith goodbye and quickly made his way to the kitchen, knowing Hunk was on a time crunch.

"Shiro! Over here!" the young cadet said, his bandana off his head for once.

Hunk was making something from the alien goop- what looked to be pudding or gelatin? Shiro wasn't sure.

"Here you are," Shiro said, handing Hunk the letter Lance had given him. Hunk's hands shook as he grabbed it, making sure he didn't crinkle the paper. Hunk carefully read the words scrawled by pen onto the neat paper and folded it back up again. He put the letter inside of his sweater pocket, making sure it wouldn't fall out. Then he sat down, pushing his hands through his brown hair. 

"Stupid Lance. Trying to apologize while saying goodbye the same way he always does," Hunk said in a shaky voice.

Shiro went over to him, sitting down by him and opening up his arms. 

"C'mere, kid," Shiro said softly.

Hunk nodded and buried his body into Shiro's arms, softly sobbing. It got louder the longer the hug went on, Hunk's tears drowning out the emptiness of the room.

"Hey, Hunk, it's time to- oh..." he heard someone say in the hallway.

Shiro looked up to see Keith standing there, covered head to toe in an all-red spacesuit. Hunk raised from the hug and wiped at his eyes.

"I'll be right behind you," Hunk said weakly.

"Alright," Keith affirmed, nodding and making his way back to the cockpit, or so Shiro presumed.

"Thank you," Shiro heard Hunk say.

"What for?"

"Showing me the letter. You could have lied and said that you lost it, or that it had been burned or torn apart. But you didn't. So thank you," Hunk said, smiling at him.

"Of course, kid. It's what Lance would have wanted."

"Damn right."

Hunk stood up, his yellow armor clanking. Shiro was the only one still in casual clothing, and he was relieved to be. He didn't know what repressed memories he would unlock by putting on a spacesuit again. Shiro waved goodbye at Hunk and then sighed. He took out the small photo from inside of his hidden pocket, making sure it hadn't gotten wrinkled. 

.....

"Last chance for a picture! Give us something of value and we'll take a picture of you to give to your loved ones if you die!" one of the generals yelled, holding them in a small room where they could barely hear the echoes of this so-called arena.

Shiro searched his pockets for anything but sighed when he found nothing that could be worth even a penny. Then Lance perked up, grabbing onto his elbow.

"I have my necklace," he said, pointing at a shiny necklace that he had somehow hidden under his shabby clothes.

It was imitation gold, but that wasn't what struck Shiro about it. The necklace had a teardrop-shaped sapphire at the bottom, shining a beautiful sea blue.

"Lance... how did you-"

"Afford it? It was a gift from my grandmother before she passed away. She got it from her second husband and wanted me to have it. I was always her favorite."

"Lance, no matter the material value, the sentimental value of that thing is too high to be sold at a place like this! You can't possibly-"

"And what can I give Adam if you die, huh? A letter, that can be easily copied or burned? At least a photo can tell him that you were alive and here- he won't forget your face. Please, Shiro, if you won't let me do this for you, do this for him!"

Shiro frowned but relented.

"You have to be in it, though," he said last-minute as Lance was handing over the priceless necklace to the general.

"Fine," Lance said, defeated.

Shiro gave him the tiniest of smiles, and Lance stood by him, gripping his elbow as the general took out an old, probably stolen, polaroid camera. Just then, Shiro remembered how young Lance was. The kid was only thirteen. They were both being sent out to battle, and there was nothing Shiro could do to stop it. The general who had seen Lance save Matt was blackmailing them, and Lance would never let him take on this hell alone. Not anymore. That's why, when the camera flashed, Shiro was crying.

.......

"Don't worry, Lance. I'll save you if it's the last thing I do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments!
> 
> Hope you all like angst, cause there's gonna be a lot of it in the future.


	4. The Video Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the lions are found, and the team forms Voltron just in time to defeat the very creature Shiro and Lance had to face on their first day as arena fighters.
> 
> Once the creature falls, a strange video starts up from its chest cavity... and memories come back for one of the team members.
> 
> After this, their new mission revolves around finding Matt and Lance and rescuing them both.

"OUR SHARPSHOOTER DOES IT AGAIN!" the PA system blared as Lance finished off his last opponent. 

The cheers that filled the stadium were deafening, and Lance put on another big fake smile. He had gotten so used to faking his emotions that the perfect 'genuine' smile came to him almost naturally. The exit hatch opened up, and Lance walked through, waving to the crowd. As soon as he left, the smile fell off his face.

"Did you hear? Voltron's been found," someone said across the hall.

Lance backed himself against the far wall and leaned towards the guards to hear better.

"I heard it's a gang of teens with two adults trying to hold the whole thing together. Some guys named Adam and Shiro?" 

Lance mentally cursed in his head. If this rumor continued to spread, the generals would know that Shiro was actually 'The Destroyer' and try to bring him back to the arena. Lance didn't even know how they had gotten this info in the first place.

"Well, we don't have to worry about it anymore. Zarkon's gonna send The Gladiator to them. That'll knock 'em out for sure."

Lance's eyes widened. This was his chance! The Gladiator was in his debt! He remembered how that happened as he made his way down the hall towards the guards...

....

Lance frowned at the cybernetic eye in his palm. He hadn't meant to tear it out of his opponent's head, but it had won him the battle anyway, so he wasn't complaining. Shiro was still fighting, so Lance made his way back to the holding cell for the fighters, knowing he was being watched from all angles. He had barely been here for more than a year- not enough to earn him any favors with the camera operations guard. He scanned his palm against the check-in slot on the wall, and the cell opened up. The rest of the fighters ignored him, but one caught his attention. It was The Gladiator, the one he and Shiro had beat in their first fight. And he was holding a hand to his eye, his face scrunched up ever-so-slightly in pain. Lance opened his palm and smiled. Well, it wouldn't hurt to start earning favors now.

"Hey, Gladiator," he said plainly, approaching the cybernetic man.

"Yes, Sharpshooter?"

"Need a hand? Or should I say.. an eye?" Lance said, opening up his palm.

The Gladiator stared at it in shock and then nodded.

"Alright, I'll give it to you for free. But you owe me!" 

The Gladiator thought it over, then nodded.

"Great," Lance said, handing the eye to the man.

As the man removed his hand from his face, Lance caught a glimpse of his empty eye socket. 

"Gross," he thought, and then moved on.

.......

...who spotted him almost immediately. 

"Hey, Sharpshooter! You did great out there today!"

Lance's 'smile' was back on his face.

"Thanks, fellas! I really appreciate it... but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Lance said, throwing an arm around one of the guard's shoulders.

The glaran, who was obviously his fan, blushed at this. Lance smirked.

"Say, how about we keep this rumor quiet for now? The generals wouldn't want to know that their top-secret info about Voltron, the supposed 'savior of the universe' has gotten out," Lance said, running his fingers down the back of the glaran man's armor. 

The other guard, who was obviously heterosexual- Lance had a very good gaydar- smirked, probably knowing his friend's attraction to the other.

"Alright," the other guard said, still smirking, "but you owe my friend here a good time after your next fight."

The one who Lance was attempting to seduce blushed, his purple skin nearly drowned out in red.

"Sounds good to me," Lance said, smiling at the other guard easily.

The other guard motioned for the blushing one to follow him, and then left the two of them alone.

"I-I have to go," the galran said.

Lance took the hand that was around his shoulder and dropped it down to the man's waist, smirking again.

"Alright then," Lance said, moving towards the guard slowly, "but I'll give you something to signify our promise." 

Lance stood on his toes and kissed the other man's cheek carefully, then smiled at him. 

"Bye-bye now," he said, detaching himself from the blushing Galran, and heading towards the holding cell.

"B-Bye.." he heard from behind him.

Once he was out of sight, he wiped his lips harshly with his hand, making sure that they were red with irritation before being satisfied. Once he reached the holding cell, he immediately spotted The Gladiator, who had gotten some serious upgrades.

"Hello, old friend," he said, approaching the man.

"Sharpshooter. You are collecting your favor now?"

"Yes. I heard through the grapevine that you're going to fight Voltron."

"Do you want me to spare those puny humans? If so, then I'm afraid I cannot do as you ask," The Gladiator said.

"Heavens no! How dare you think I wish to 'save' them. I just want to send them a little present," Lance said, smiling as much as he could. 

He needed to sell his act. The Gladiator looked at him, and then smirked, probably thinking Lance was up to something diabolical.

"Good. What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing, my friend, but just... putting a little something inside that chest cavity of yours."

"Are you placing a bomb in case I lose?"

"No. I'll be filming a little message for them, telling them that we arena fighters are going to destroy them in the end," Lance said, smirking.

"I like your plan. Do as you must."

Lance nodded at him, and went over to his small area, finding the thump-sized camera he had hidden in the wall. He smiled at The Gladiator, and then went over to the caves, a private area for bathing, to film it. Checking that no one else was there, Lance hurriedly set up the camera on a high-ish rock and sat in front of it. He pressed record.

......

Keith sighed as they failed to form Voltron for... what, the fifteenth time? He wasn't sure.

"C'mon, paladins, one more time!" he heard Allura yell down at them.

It was easy for her to say, she wasn't the one who had to figure out how to merge ancient tech back together again! They couldn't even complete a mind bonding exercise cause Pidge kept thinking of his girlfriend!

"Alright! Form- what the fuck is that?!" he heard Pidge say.

"LANGUAGE!" Adam retorted.

"Oh, no. It's The Gladiator," he heard Shiro say.

"The what now?" he asked, angrier than ever.

They were just getting the hang of this, dammit!

"FORM VOLTRON!" he heard Shiro yell.

They all screamed in protest, and Keith covered his eyes with his hands. This was the part where they all got crushed and died by these ancient lions who had no idea what they were doing and-

"Oh thank god it worked!" he heard someone, probably Shiro, say.

Keith opened his eyes to see that his lion had somehow become the right.. hand? Weird. 

"Well that's one less thing to worry about. But now we still have to take care of that giant purple thing!" Keith screamed in protest.

"Oh, don't worry about it! We- I mean... I beat that thing in minutes!"

Keith frowned. Shiro was hiding something from them, he knew it. Everyone was hiding something, but Shiro especially. 

"Well what did you use to beat this thing?"

"...a sword."

Keith saw his desk console thingy light up and smirked. 

"I think I can help with that," he said, inserting his weapon inside the glowing-red machine. 

He turned it to the right and a sword was made from inside the red lion's mouth. 

"That's so damn cool," he said, smiling.

"Keith Kogane! Lanugage!"

"Adam! I don't give a shit!"

"Both of you! Quiet!" Shiro yelled, ending his and Adam's small feud.

Keith manueved the sword, striking The Gladiator in one of his legs. The beast growled and charged, knocking them over. Hunk and Pidge stood them back up, Keith swinging again. He took out one of The Gladiator's hands, but the creature was still standing.

"Where did you strike to kill it before?"

"I... don't remember!"

"SHIRO! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR SECRETS!" Keith yelled, his anger boiling.

"I DIDN'T KILL IT, OKAY? THE KID DID!"

"...the what?" Keith said quietly.

"LANCE! LANCE KILLED THIS THING, AND THEN THEY BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE WITH SOME WEIRD YELLOW SHIT. HE USED SOME KIND OF GUN AND HIT IT IN THE CENTER OF ITS FOREHEAD!" Shiro yelled, agony seeping through his voice.

"...I was useless the entire fight. I was saved by a thirteen year old kid who shouldn't even have been there," Shiro said, the quietest Keith had ever heard.

"That doesn't matter now, Takashi! What matters is that you're here, and we're going to save this kid!" Adam yelled, and then the blue lion transformed.

What was once an 'arm' was now a gun. Adam aimed it at the charging creature and fired, sending a shot directly through its head. The beast fell, blood spewing from the wound. Each member of the team was out of breath, Adam panting especially hard.

"Fuck yeah," Adam said.

"Watch your language," Keith answered through the intercoms after two minutes of silence.

Everyone laughed, and then Voltron de-assembled. They all scrambled to exit their lions, looking in awe at the giant dead alien. Suddenly, there was a beeping sound, and then a hologram like video shot up from the creature's chest. They were all silent as the video played.

"Testing, testing... okay, we're good. Hello, Voltron. Or.. more accurately, hello, my old Earthean pals. It's me. If you don't recognize me, or if the rumors aren't true about who's in charge of the saviors of the universe, then feel free to turn off this video. Or destroy it, or something like that. If you do know who I am, then hi there! It's me. In the flesh. Lance McClain, the stowaway from Cuba. I hope you're alright, Destroyer. When I sent you off in that escape pod, you seemed pretty distressed. I hope you and your husband made up. Did you show my friends at home the letter? Did you give them the other thing in case I was dead? You know what I'm talking about. I'm... running out of time, but I hope you all are doing okay out there. Saving the people who have had their lives ruined by the Galra and all that. Knowing you, Destroyer, you probably brought mullet along with you. Is he still emo? Probably. Anyway... what my point... is that I'm okay. I don't need to be rescued. I've been fighting for years, and I'll continue fighting until someone else comes along and finishes me off. So there's no need to rescue me. OH! One more thing. If you're searching for Matt, I know that he's most likely been sent off to the farming facility. It's on a small peaceful planet of rock people. One of them... Shay, I think, has connections with the camp. She'll help you get inside to look for him. That's all I can say right now. Don't worry about me! And be safe out there, Voltron."

Keith's eyes widened as the video ended. He remembered something now.

.....

"HEY YOU! WITH THE MULLET!" he heard someone shout behind him.

Keith sighed and turned, expecting to see a teacher. Instead, it was a skinny tan kid, with strangely bright blue eyes. Keith cocked his head. 

"Who the heck are you?" he asked.

"Who am I?" the kid said, scoffing, "well, they call me The Tailor, 'cause of how I thread the needle, but my real name is-"

"KOGANE! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" he heard Iverson yell.

He sighed. He knew his sneaking out was going to be found out one day. Apparently today was the day.

"W-Wait! Your high score... I'm gonna beat it!" this... Tailor kid declared.

"....Whatever," he said, walking towards Iverson's office.

.....

Keith frowned. Shiro had a lot of explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more and more flashbacks as Shiro and Keith's repressed memories return. Hope you all are enjoying this!


	5. Get in bitches, we're going to Space Mall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron minus Shiro and Adam goes to the Space Mall and finds out Pidge's secret. A Galran propaganda poster has Hunk in tears.

"Lance, come back to bed," Kiva whined, trying and failing to grab onto the back of Lance's pajama shirt. 

"In just a minute, Kiva. I'm just getting water," Lance said, smiling fondly at the other.

Kiva smiled back, his sharp teeth on full display. As soon as he made his way into the kitchen, Lance started shaking uncontrollably. What was he supposed to do now? A low-ranking guard had fallen in love with him- though the man wouldn't admit it quite yet, Lance just knew- and he hadn't been able to shake the disgust from his body. Kiva was going to catch on soon. Lance couldn't let that happen- not when he had worked so hard to keep his position as a well-loved champion so it would be easier to escape. If Kiva figured out Lanc's true feelings and ratted him out to the generals, Lance would be stuck in a cell with no way to escape for the rest of his life. And he wasn't exaggerating- this had happened to one of his competitors only last week. It was true that being in a 'relationship' with Kiva had his benefits; the main and only one being that Lance didn't have to kill anymore, but he just couldn't bring himself to keep up this act much longer. He needed to get out of here.

"Lance..." Kiva called grumpily from the bed, "hurry up. It's cold."

The blue-eyed boy sighed and grabbed a water bottle from inside the cooler and then walked back to the bed, sitting back down as he drank large sips of the water.

Kiva sat up, his cat-like pupils expanding. 

"What?" Lance asked, genuinely curious.

"You look so beautiful in the moonlight," Kiva proclaimed, kissing Lance on the cheek.

"Oh, do I?" Lance asked quietly, knowing where this was going.

"So breathtaking. And all mine," Kiva growled out, moving his mouth to Lance's neck and pushing him down onto the covers.

Lance held back his tears and the screams of protest that almost fell out of his mouth. "Only a few more days," he thought, "until Zarkon chooses three fighters to take to a new base. I will survive." He almost believed it as Kiva touched his chest softly, cooing out praises that to Lance felt like acid.

......

"Shiro. We need to fucking talk." Keith said, stopping his voice from raising any further.

The man in question sighed carefully, looking at Keith. Keith, having worked with Shiro most of his life, knew what his actions were speaking. "I don't want to talk about it." Keith also sighed, burying his long hair into his red jacket, knowing Shiro wouldn't be talking about this anymore. Not to him, at least.

"SHIRO!" he heard Adam scream from across the hallway. 

Keith knew Shiro couldn't avoid his fianceé. Shiro knew it as well, letting out a big sigh but making his way through the hall in search of Adam anyway. Keith smirked at the way Shiro dragged his feet across the hall, looking more and more sullen with every step.

"Number 4! There you are," he heard Coran say from the other room. 

Keith looked over his shoulder, smiling at the orange-haired altean. Coran waved his hand in greeting, his cheek marks lighting up in happiness. 

"I had the most wonderful idea. You see, we need to promote the fact that Voltron is back in action," Coran said, twirling his mustache with one hand, "so I want you to fly Pidge, Allura, Hunk, and I to the Space Mall. It's a popular place full of spots to spread the news."

"Why can't we bring the castle to Space Mall?" Keith asked.

Their conversation was interrupted by two older male voices screaming at each other, which Keith recognized as Shiro and Adam immediately. 

"Nevermind," he said, running a gloved hand through his long black hair in annoyance.

"That is quite a problem. This way, we'll also have an excuse to not be here while Number 1 and Number 3 fight."

Keith smiled in appreciation, making his way over to the computer lab to tell Pidge the news. He found Hunk in there as well, which explained why the infectiously happy man hadn't been in the kitchen. Pidge and Hunk were re-watching Lance's video, Pidge taking notes onto a piece of paper and the other with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, you two," he said- not aggressive, but not kind either.

They both turned to stare at him and the video shut off immediately. Keith figured that it was Pidge's doing.

"Wanna go on a field trip to Space Mall?"

"YES!"

"ABSOLUTELY!"

Keith smiled. They both had stars in their eyes.

"Imagine all the tech they'll have there," Pidge said, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Who cares about that! They have to have a food court! I'm ready to eat some real food," Hunk said, his stomach growling in agreement.

"Well whatever you wanna buy, you'll have to get some alien currency first. Once you have that, or your hopes have been crushed, or you have a plan on how to steal those things, meet me in Red," Keith said.

Both of them seemed to think it over, Pidge slumping in defeat. But the fire in Hunk's eyes hadn't gone out. Keith wondered what he was planning.

"Number 4! I got Allura to agree. We'll be leaving as soon as possible."

Keith smiled, then his smile dropped as he watched Shiro and Adam not too far away from the computer lab in another screaming match.

"Let's get the hell out of here," he said softly.

Coran smiled forcefully and took another path towards the hangar, Keith following the altean. Allura joined them as they walked, smiling softly. Red growled upon his entrance, bending down on her metallic front paws and opening her jaw. Keith and Coran walked in, Red starting up as Keith took his seat and grabbed his bayard from where he had left it. Red's controls showed up easily. Pidge and Hunk appeared in the hangar, rushing into Red quickly. Keith closed up the doors as Pidge and Hunk entered and then took off as soon as everyone had been seated and buckled in. They made their way to space mall, Pidge commenting on the star clusters that they passed on their way there. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," Keith said, drawing a laugh out of Pidge and Allura, "we are now approaching Space Mall. Thank you for flying with us here at Voltron airlines and we hope you have a good day."

They landed in the 'parking lot' getting on their spacesuits and making their way through the entrance. 

"Welcome to Space Mall! Enjoy your trip!" a robotic female voice echoed from the loudspeakers floating in the center of the mall.

Keith felt his eyes widen. There was so much to look at. A store that sold singing trees, another store covered in neon lights, and what looked to be a thrift store with a cow in the window. There were aliens all around, some tall and squinty-eyed and others short and with eyes that practically bulged out of their heads. Pidge was squealing, Hunk was looking at the map for the food court, and Allura and Coran were grabbing some free sunglasses that covered their marks. Allura hid her ears with her hair and Coran stole a pair of earmuffs from a store as they walked by it. They both looked ridiculous, but they would draw more attention looking exactly like a thousand-year-old extinct race of aliens other than two people with bad fashion taste. 

They all looked at each other in unison, nodded, and then immediately split up. Hunk headed to the cafeteria, Pidge to some hole-in-the-wall tech shop, Coran to a place that sold fancy hats and mustache cream, Allura to who-knows-where, and Keith headed to a knife store. He needed to ask about his dad's old knife, one that had started mysteriously glowing purple as soon as Keith had come to space. 

.......

Allura smiled as she walked through the perfume store, familiar scents that she had long forgotten making her feel at home. 

"Did you hear? About Zarkon?" she heard two aliens gossiping inside the store. 

Allura froze where she stood. She then simultaneously made a decision. She carefully walked up to a display of perfumes where the two other aliens stood, close enough that she could hear but far enough away that she wouldn't look suspicious. 

"What has he done this time?"

"He's developing a weapon, I heard. One made entirely of quintessence. It can apparently destroy entire planets."

Allura had to stop herself from screaming. Zarkon was making the weapon again. The one her people had died destroying. She shook herself and kept listening.

"How is he going to pull that off? The last time he made a weapon like that, it nearly destroyed him! Some loose-lipped guards told me that he takes a daily dose of quintessence from Haggar, the witch!" 

"Apparently he's taking his top ten champions from the arena to work on it. The amount of quintessence those fighters share should be enough to control the weapon."

"How horrible! Everyone knows just a little bit of quintessence exposure could kill someone. Those warriors... will either be slowly killed by the exposure or, even worse, corrupted by it."

"Corrupted?"

"Glarans can use small amounts of quintessence to corrupt people. That's how they get such eager soldiers. But too much quintessence could separate your soul from your body until you become a merciless killing machine until you're killed in battle."

Allura shook violently. Shiro had nearly avoided that fate, and the little boy that had been with them was still there, just an 18-year-old now. What was going to come of the human? Allura prayed to her extinct gods that Lance would be skipped from this experiment.

"Squeak!" she heard the mice she had snuck into the mall squeal. They had disappeared for a while and now hung above her from the vent. Allura quickly held her hands up for them to crawl into and then hid them in her sleeve. 

"What are you doing here? What could be so important that you nearly cause me information," Allura said, angry.

The mice obviously felt bed, but their new information that they had discovered made Allura's curiosity peak up in interest. 

"Pidge is a girl?"

...........

Keith walked back from the store, having not found any information about his knife.

"Help! Anyone, help!" he heard from inside the cafeteria. 

Fearing the worst, Keith ran into the food court. He found Hunk on the floor, crying senselessly. 

"What happened?!" he yelled out to the alien who had called out. 

The man in question was wearing a chef hat and had worried etched all over his face. 

"He was washing the dishes to pay off his debt from eating my food without currency, He had moved on to working the cash register when some soldier tried to sell us a propaganda poster. Hunk had tried to deny him, but as soon as he saw the poster he became like this," the man explained.

Keith looked at the crumpled poster on the floor near Hunk. It read, "Tired of your boring days? Then come watch the last Championship match!" Keith didn't see the problem until he looked below the words to the photo below it. A circle of corpses was around ten fighters, one of them very familiar. Lance was easy to recognize, holding his gun close to his chest and glaring down at the photographer. His eyes looked so dead, even as a smile was across his face. He was covered in red, blue, and purple blood. Keith nearly puked.

"Hey, Hunk, it's alright," he heard the chef say.

"Hunk. We'll save him," Keith said loudly, finding the hardness in his own voice surprising. 

That got Hunk to stop shaking, looking at him in confusion. 

"We'll save Lance. If it kills us." Keith promised, smiling at the other.

Hunk nodded. "If it kills us," the man in yellow repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like pain, cause there's gonna be a lot more of it >:)


	6. Chosen Few

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Championship fight commences.

Hunk sighed as he saw Coran tied to a tree. He knew those travelers weren't actually travelers. Taking his lion back down to the planet, he successfully scared the two of them off before untying his friend and bringing him back on the yellow lion. He grabbed Pidge as well, who was trying way too hard to become friends with the traveler's robot. The three of them made their way into the yellow lion, Pidge whining about not being able to see the robot. However, the robot seemed to realize that he was gone and drove itself onto the lion, going back into Pidge's arms with a pleasant beeping noise.

"Yes! I am victorious!" Pidge yelled, raising his fist. 

Hunk and Coran laughed, and the smugglers went back into the hole, sending the Hunk major stink eyes. Hunk just rolled his own and took off, hoping to never run into the two of them again. 

.....

Keith sighed dramatically as he held the crumpled poster in his hands. Lance McClain... the tailor. One of Zarkon's warriors.

"I have to go to the fight," Keith thought out loud.

Thankfully no one was near him to hear what he had said. Keith smoothed out the paper, checking for a location. Nothing was immediately showing itself, but Keith knew better than to trust that. The galra were known for being secretive about many things, including the time and place for their fights. Checking the back and scanning an invisible ink light over it, he still saw nothing. Frustrated, he went to the only person he knew who could solve puzzles in no time at all: Coran. At first, he thought that Pidge would be the best puzzle solver, but the green paladin was more interested in cracking complex codes than putting pieces in simple places. But Coran was amazing at solving puzzles. Put a jigsaw in front of that man and he would be done in less than 60 tics. 

"Coran!" Keith yelled.

The altean turned, smiling at him. 

"What is it, number 4?"

"I got something for you."

Keith threw the poster at Coran, the man catching it with ease.

"What is this wretched thing? Why would you get this for me?"

"It's hiding coordinates to the Championship fight. If I can get my hands on those, then..."

"No can do, number 4. I won't let you go alone to this very dangerous event and possibly get captured!"

Keith groaned, grabbing the paper from Coran again.

"Fine. Whatever."

..........

Lance loaded his gun, making sure that everything was in the right place. He felt arms wrap around his waist and stopped himself from shivering in fear. 

"My beautiful Sharpshooter, must you do this? You can just stay here, with me. We can work for a few more years in a less dangerous place and then retire! How does that sound?" Kiva asked, gently kissing Lance's cheek.

Lance forced a smile upon his face.

"Kiva. My dear. Zarkon will only take us chosen few to be his warriors. I wish to be there, making history, and making you proud."

"But at what cost? This could kill you! Stay, please."

"The chances of this... thing... killing me are high, yes. But I am strong. I will not be defeated by a measly machine, my Kiva."

Kiva smiled sadly at him, but eventually let him go, the sound of the battlefield not too far away. Lance turned, but before he could make his way into the championship battle that would decide whether or not he could escape this place, a hand grabbed his wrist. He looked back at Kiva in confusion. The galran's eyebrows were creased, his lips crinkled in desperation. 

"Lance... I-"

 **NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT.** Lance hid the terror in his face quickly and placed a finger on Kiva's lips.

"Tell me when I come back victorious," he said, faking a big smile.

Kiva nodded, letting go of him for the last time. Lance would almost miss the other, but Kiva was one of the guards who had captured Lance and Shiro originally. Even if Lance had come to love the other, he would have never forgiven him. 

"LADIES, GENTELFOLK, AND ALL IN BETWEEN, WELCOME TO THE ARENA: SHARPSHOOTER!" 

Lance put on a big smile and walked onto the stage.

.........

Zarkon sat carefully, watching the ten champions fight. It had been going on for about an hour, and it looked as though five of them were about ready to drop dead, while the other five were still fighting it out. He watched as "Goliath" was taken down by "The Pen", and the five weaker ones all seemed to collapse at once. Four left now. One away from the three he needed. He would only accept the best of the best- the ones who could withstand the quintecensse in the machine. Which is why he had infused the air the champions were breathing with the poisonous substance, to test their strength. 

The ones left over were "The Pen"- who had earned their nickname from the catchphrase they said at the end of all their battles, "The pen is mightier than the sword!". Then there was "Sharpshooter", a young man whose aim with a gun was unrivaled- his swordplay was rumored to also be astounding, but few had seen it. Another competitor was the underdog- "The Gladiator"- whom he had sent after Voltron only to have the creature fail. He was patched up by Haggar after they found him through a video signal that he had emitted after being defeated. No one really knew why there was a signal, but they worked with it. Zarkon frowned, hoping the disappointing warrior would be defeated. The last competitor left was "Sugar Sweet"- who had supposedly been poisoning all of her opponents. Some would call that weak, but Zarkon knew that the strength of poison was one that shouldn't be doubted.

"The Pen", "Sharpshooter", and "Sugar Sweet" all seemed to come to a mutual agreement and charged towards "The Gladiator". Zarkon smiled, knowing that even though these warriors were no more than glorified prisoners, they still held some sense of pride towards his 'nation' and knew that "The Gladiator" wasn't strong enough to power his machine. "The Pen" pinned down one of the huge beast's arms in their tiny hold, while "Sugar Sweet" injected a needle full of most likely poison into his neck. Finally, "Sharpshooter" grabbed a lance that had fallen to the ground and swung the huge sword, beheading his opponent in one fell swoop. The crowd cheered, and Zarkon grinned, knowing that these three were worthy.

"We will depart in one hour," he said to Haggar, making sure that he gave a departing wave to the eager crowd. They screamed in victory and delight, and Zarkon walked out of the arena with sounds of his own name ringing along those of the champions.

"The universe has no idea how I will conquer it and all its people... but it will learn. And on that day, the Black Lion will be mine once more."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're just getting started here!


	7. Rock People/Aliens. They Exist.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Voltron team makes it to the Balmera and finds devastation.

Keith sighed, viewing the broken device in his hands. He had only managed to get Pidge's space tablet working for a few minutes, and the screen had barely shown Zarkon waving to his people and walking towards his ship. Keith really hadn't meant to break the thing, but he couldn't help himself, seeing as just before the champions of the fight were announced, the connection fizzed out. 

"You really have to watch that temper of yours!" Pidge said, his voice going up a few octaves in frustration as he tried and failed to fix the device.

"Sorry Pidge," Keith said lamely, tossing his dagger into the air and catching it by the handle with ease.

"And be careful with that thing! Next thing you know you could cut someone's eye out!" 

Keith apologized again and sheathed his knife. He knew he shouldn't be angry, he didn't even really know the kid, but something in him was screaming at how unfair this was. Lance was a child when he walked onto that spaceship, and he had had to grow up surrounded by death, blood, and quiznack forbid Galrans of all shapes and sizes. He wanted to scream, to say that the other _didn't deserve this_. But he couldn't. They were almost strangers, barely acquaintances. Keith had no right to feel for someone he barely knew. So he buried the hot anger deep down, moving up quickly. When Pidge gave him a questioning look, all he could say was, "I'm gonna go train."

**1 hour later**

The mindless thrusting of his sword, ironically called a lance, was both good and bad for Keith's mental state. He recognized, of course, that he couldn't be rid of his emotions simply by fighting them out. But he could damn well try. 

"Attention all Paladins! We are now landing on the Blamera!" Coran's chipper voice filtered through the announcement system.

Keith smiled, knowing this was their chance to rescue one of the three astronauts from the Kerberos mission, Matt Holt.

They were almost at the Balmera.

.....

_2 weeks earlier_

His normally soft brown hair fell in from of his face, everything blurry since he had left his glasses at home. His contacts had been lost long ago. The people of the Balmera had tried to ake him new ones, but they didn't work.

"Matt. You must go. Zarkon's fleet will be here soon. They cannot catch you here." the young balemran guard said, pushing him further out of the camp.

"Why can I go but not the others? They are not strong enough to survive this attack."

"And you are?"

"I-"

"Listen, human. You are their only link to Voltron, and you know it. By now everyone knows that the greatest weapon in the galaxy is piloted by beings from Earth, and the galrans will sue this knowledge to try and force information out of you. If we can delay that process for at least a couple months, it will be for the better. You know how to survive on your own, and no one is going to magically appear out of the sky to rescue you, got it?"

"Yeah. Got it. I'll be long gone before they land here. You know you'll be decimated?"

"We won't be. Not all of us. We took some crystals and a few of the younger, stronger people and put them in escape pods."

"Will you be going with them?"

"The glara will spare me only to question me about you. Then I will be gone."

"You know this is unfair, Shay. You aren't even part of the force, you're just a volunteer. An unwilling one at that."

"Life is unfair, Matt. Go."

"Goodbye, my friend."

.....

As they landed, Keith couldn't help but gasp at what he saw. Based on the photos in Allura's castle, this was supposed to be a beautiful planet full of glowing blue crystals. But all he saw was flames. Smoke was rising up above the rocky sphere, and as they landed he saw dead bodies everywhere.

"What... happened here?" he heard Allura say so quietly he almost didn't recognize her voice.

"I'm not sure..." Coran said.

"MATT!" Pidge yelled, and opened the door outside.

"PIDGE WAIT!" Hunk screamed, then went after her. 

Keith watched both of their figures go into the smoke and hoped they would come out in one piece. He closed the door carefully.

"You are not going to follow them, number 4?" Coran asked.

"This is something the two of them need to do on their own," Keith answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's going to be A LOT of angst, and I mean ANGST, when Keith and Lance finally meet for the "first" time. Added heavy angst tag, idiots in love tag, and enemies to friends to lovers tag. SLOW BURN. Also, sorry for my SUPER inconsistent schedule. I'm one busy bitch.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all like it!


End file.
